Environmental Imaginaries: The Role of Climate Change and Ecological Conversations in the Works of Nnedi Okorafor

Abstract

This article is on the ‘environmental imaginary’ in the science fiction of Nnedi Okorafor: Who Fears Death, the Binti trilogy, and The Book of Phoenix. These novels subvert traditional ways of thinking about climate change and ecological loss by offering new stories grounded in Afrofuturism and Africanfuturism. This paper delves into the criticism of Okorafor's modern environmental practices, which include environmental degradation, resource consumption, and human interaction with the environment. The analysis utilises African indigenous knowledge and its relationship with the land and the natural environment to provide two examples of different paradigms of sustainability and ecological recovery. Okorafor’s characters are involved in environmental protection, and the book shows an ecofeminist viewpoint that deals with community, tradition, and technology in solving worldwide environmental issues. In addition to this, the study questions how literature constructs environmental imaginaries that can enhance the public’s awareness of climate change and nurture environmental justice. This work broadens the current discussions on postcolonial speculative fiction and ecological futures while examining how Okorafor's works influence the discourse on capitalist resource exploitation.